When the world ends
by CassandrAki
Summary: An alternative ending/sequel for the trilogy, inspired by the Matrix online.  And my need for a happy ending, nevertheless
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: Determination

And there was darkness. Nothing, but only darkness. Neo didn't even know that he was still alive.  
His head was hurting, as if someone had put sharp needles into every little area of his skin.  
He couln't see anything. Anything? No, there was something: A little light coming from an object that looked like a computer beside him.

Where am I?, he thought. As more of those lights in shape of different robots appeared around him, he realized that he was still lying in Machine City.  
He remembered that he had fought Smith, and that somehow, the machines had kept him alive. But how long had he been asleep? It felt like waking up from a long, comatose state.

As he could only see electrified machine beings, he tried tapping around with his hand to find out where he was. There was some cloth under him and he was lying on some kind of bed. The electric items around him seemed like medical items; and feeling a terrible pain within his whole body, he assumed that he was in a kind of hospital. The machines were farming humans, so they had to be experts of the human body.

Neo went on tapping around and started to feel something warm and soft beside him. Another human body had to be lying beside him, but there were lots of plugs and wires stuck into it.  
It went like a shock through his head.

Trinity!

She was dead. The love of his life had died in his arms. He remembered that he left her lying in the hovercraft as he went to fight his last battle against Agent Smith.  
Trinity had been the only other human being who ever got to Zero One. It had to be her body lying beside him!

But why would the machines bring her dead corps here?  
He felt wires on the same places in her body as when he had left her. Her body was still warm, so it couldn't have been a long time ago that he had lost his conscience.

Neo silently started to cry.

"Why?", he mourned, over and over again. "Why you, Trinity?  
And why am I still alive?  
Why did they save me?", he whispered at the world around him.  
"I only asked for saving Zion, not for saving me!  
I don't want to keep on living without the one that I loved...  
Why didn't you grant me some peace?

Am I still needed here?"

"You are", a female voice commented his self-talk behind him, while he heard footsteps hitting the floor. Neo got up surprisedly. Who was that? Was he going to be insane? He always thought that no human being had ever made it to Machine City before him. And that was correct. As he turned around, he could see the shape of a beautiful woman, made of pure golden light like all the other machines he had met here.

"So you finally have gained human apperance?", Neo asked. "Smith had not been the first one to download into flesh and blood, am I right?"

"You are", the women said. "You're both right and you also are the first one who did that... I mean... your series."

"You're kidding me!", Neo answered and felt like meeting the architect to hear more of his bullshit. But now, all that he had heard there finally started to make sense.

"Your wrong", the machine women commented him now. "Both wrong because I'm not lying to you and because in some way Smith was also the first one to do this... Because he is a part of yourself. A part of your program. He and you are one. Like twin brothers that have now melted back into the one being they decended from."

Neos head was aching terribly and he had to sit down. This was too much. Too much information for his head, too much stress for his hurt body, and far too much for his wounded human soul to take.

"Since you are still needed, Mister Anderson", his visitor went on with no compassion for his state of mind, "I have an offer to make to you."

"Not now", Neo gasped.

"But this will be of interest to you."

"What do you want me to do?"

Neo could not imagine that the machines could have anything to offer him, since all he had ever wanted was gone forever. But he was afraid that the war might still not be over and that Zion was not save yet. So he was ready to do whatever they wanted him to. Since Trinity had died, he felt like his own life had no real purpose anymore but serving mankind.

"Let us first talk about what we have to offer", the woman went on in a proud way.  
Neo listened ennervedly.

"You're not the only model that was designed as a combination of artificial and biological intellegence."

"I see. You're one of us, too."

"I am only a prototype of an artificial human body. Not an apropriate one. But the model called Trinity is."

"What does that mean?", Neo wanted to know. Now, he was interested.

"Well, since she represents a maybe even more important experiment for us than you are, we might be able to call her back. But we need you to do this. That is why we brought her body here. It was too precious to be thrown away. She is still in the Matrix, doing her job very well..."

"What job?"

"Let's come to this later. What we want you to do is, go back into the Matrix and convince her of reconnecting to her body as soon as we have prepared it."

"Why?"

"Because... We want the two of you to be our ambassadors for the peace process with the human race."

"I can't believe this. What have you done to her? And what happened to her body?"

"Unluckily, we were only able to save her code. Her body is not restored yet. It was harmed seriously. But we're still trying to repair it..."

"Repair? You want to tell me that her mind is still alive in the Matrix, that we're both robots and that you want me to... Whatever...? This is too much for me. If this is true... Well, if it's not, I don't care, because my death won't matter... Even if there's the slightest chance to see her again, I guess it's worth giving it a try... But I still can't believe it. Why was I created if you knew that this would happen?"

The woman gave him no answer.

"Did... you... now that this would happen?", he asked once more jokingly, knowing that he had brought his own unforseeable part into the equation."

"You have twelve hours", the woman finally said before she left the room, not regarding his comment.

Twelve hours.

Twelve hours that could mean wasting his life for the purposes of the machines, or saving the woman he would have died for without even thinking about it! That was an easy choice, even if his chances were only little. If this was a trap, it would have made no difference. Without Trinity, Neo felt like his life had no meaning anyway. The only risk he saw in this was that he could harm mankind during his operation. But if this was the case, he could still put his life an end while being on the way. He had no idea what he was supposed do, but he spoke out loudly that he was ready, hoping that someone would hear him.

Just in the same moment, an army of little robots appeared helping him to log back in to the Matrix, as if Neo was their master. But he did not feel like that anymore when he woke up between garbage boxes on a backstreet in the ghetto of Megacity. Couldn't you have treated me a little nicer?, he yelled now once more at this other world around him, rubbing his still hurting head.

"Never ever! We brought you as close as possible!", a tiny little voice was whispering into his ear. That was the moment when Neo discovered that he was wearing earplugs, like Agent Smith had done before. And not only this, he was also wearing a black suit instead of his rebel clothes.

"Am I supposed to be an agent now?", he asked the little voice in the plug. "Yes indeed. Not only that you're now operating for us; Smith's and your code has merged as you defeated him."

Neo realized that he had access to Smith's memories. All the secret pathways he had known could now be used by him. And he felt a mental strength inside like never before. He knew now that Smith had been searching for this state of mind since he had become a person of his own agenda, and Neo saw now why: Smith had always been a part of his own code that had now returned to him. He remembered now that he had agreed to the seperation of his code, before he had been sent into a human body... It had enabled him to understand both sides of the equation. Now that he knew who he really was, there was one more question to be solved:

"Who... are you?" He asked his secret whisperer.  
"You know me!", the friendly voice said, sounding like child.  
"Sati?"  
"Correct. You are quick whitted, Mister. You know it all now, don't you?"  
"Oh yes."  
"So what's your decision?"  
"You know that."  
"I know. You want to find your beloved. And live with the humans.", Sati said smilingly. "That's good. We need an ambassador. And we both think you've earned yourself a life of your own."  
"Both of you?"  
"Yes. The old lady, and me... The Oracle!  
Neo, get on your feet now! Time is rare.", she said in her cute children's voice with Indian accent, though the issue was so serious, "You have to find the the head quarter of a secret organization which is called 'The Oligarchy'. Those people are very dangerous, but you've got secret knowledge yourself now. In the pocket of your jacket you'll find a map. If you're lucky, you'll find Trinity there. We'll give you further instructions then!"  
"What in the world is your plan?", Neo asked. The Oracle was now on the line:  
"We can't explain that to you now. Like always, Neo, you have to trust us. We can see a future... We see a dark future, a future that does not necessarily have to happen, now that WE have found you. We need you Neo, to help us. Because you and I know that there's another way and we also both want that, isn't it so?"

"It is."

Neo still did not entirely know what was lying ahead of him, but he got back this feeling of determination, that most of the time had been accompanying him.  
Knowing that Sati and the Oracle had also survived somehow made things easier for him.  
But he thought that he'd never forget the following twelve hours... Twelve hours, that would seem to him like 12 days. Or 12 weeks. Or even month.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: Grace

Nevertheless, Neo was suffering from amnesia when he came back to the real world for a second time. And this time, it was Trinity who had yelled her voice out of her throat because she had thought that Neo was dead. She as well was pretty much worn out when Neo finally came back to his senses. But he had no idea of what she had been through because his brain had been going through a major reboot finally. Nor did he remember that she was still alive.

Once again, there was only darkness for him. Nothing but darkness. His head was still hurting like hell. And still he couln't see anything.

Like the last time, he was trying to tap around with his hand to find out where he was. He assumed that he was lying on some kind of bed and that he had defeated Smith a few seconds ago. When he went on tapping around he started to feel something warm and soft beside him. Another human body was lying beside him, but there were lots of plugs and wires stuck into it.  
And like a deja-vue, it went like a shock through his head again:

Trinity!

Once more, Neo would have to go through the heavy pain of realizing that the love of his life was dead; only rememberring that she had died in his arms. But this time, his mourning was waking up Trinity, who had been crying herself to sleep. Her body had not healed yet, and speaking was hard for her.

Neo!, she nevertheless whispered back breathlessly, and he couldn't believe his ears.

"Neo!", the whisper returned, more softly now.  
And tapping around once more, he felt someone take his hand gently.  
However in the world could this be?  
He knew these hands. He had known them too well.

"It's me!", the voice said, "don't be afraid."  
Those hands were now comforting his face.  
"You finally came back to life!", she said, hardly believing it herself.

Neo still thought that this was some sort of test the machines were putting him through for no understandable reason.

"I came back to life?", he gasped. "I saw you die!"

"But I wasn't really dead", she tried to point out with the last power she had in her voice.  
"Soon after you were gone, they tried to save my life."  
"Who? The machines?"  
Neo felt her head nodd, while he was holding it in his hands.  
He realized that she was still quite weak and speaking was hard for her, so he chose to ask no more questions. While pointing at the shapes of her face with his own fingers, he stopped on her lips.  
She took his hand once more and kissed it very gently.

"Trinity!", he whispered, hardly believing what was happening.  
And taking her weakened body into his arms, Neo had to cry out of relief.  
He could not handle this. She was still alive. She lay beside him.  
"But... Those wires that stuck in your body...", he went on asking her after a while.  
"As far as I can see it", Trinity tried to manage to speak, "they supply me with artificial blood and drugs." She was giving it a painful and dirty laughter.

"I don't get why did the machines keep us alive", Neo wanted to know, but he realized that having to answer more questions was to stressful for Trinity right now. So he said: "I don't care why, Trin. If this is really true... and not a dream or a simulation... and I'm not plugged in to the Matrix anymore..."

"It's not a dream", she whispered, and kissed his head. He could feel it was none. He could feel Trinity as he had always been able to sense her presence, even if their two minds were operating in different realities from time to time.  
Once more, the man that had saved Zion could not fight his tears.

Were there really tears? He began to feel something wet on his skin.  
Trinity tried to whipe it away with her finger.

"Neo... On your face..."  
She looked at the place where once his eyes had been.  
He still wore some cloth wrapped around his head, and Trinity saw that it was full of blood.  
She was too afraid to lift up the cloth, being scared of the sight.  
But Neo grapped it immediately and pulled it away.  
"I can't believe it!", Trinity said, while looking at his new eyelids, which the machines had given him. Neo touched them himself.

"Trinity", he asked, "is it true?"  
She nodded silently. Then she asked in a very careful way: "Can you open them?"  
It was hard for him, but he tried to. Somehow, he realized that he was still afraid to wake up and find out it was all just a dream. If it was, he just wanted to kiss her once more.

Pressing his lips onto hers with the passion of doing that for the last time, Neo slowly managed to lift his eyelids and began to see some some light appear within the darkness. First, the light hurt him, and all outlines were quite unclear, but he could still feel Trinity's lips. She had to be there. While he was trying to figure out some of her shapes, he felt her tears drop down on his face.

"Neo...Your eyes...", she said very moved, "Not the ones I knew, but..."  
He started to point out something blue. This had to be her eyes, he assumed.

It took him hours to adopt to this new kind of viewing, until he could really recognize her face again. That moment ment endless joy to him. She was still alive, and once more he was given the chance to look into her beautiful eyes. He would have been totally satisfied with having her back and would have spended the rest of his life as a blind man without complaining for a single moment. But looking into her eyes was special, and had always been an exchange between their two souls. All the pain they had been through meant nothing to them, now that they had found rest again in each other's arms.

Finally, they both fell asleep, wrapped around each other tightly. All that had happened had made them both so worn out, though Neo still didn't totally remeber. But when they woke up again, Trinity wanted to explain him.

She told him how he had saved her from the Oligarch Network, and how Sati and the Oracle had managed them both to enter the Source of the Matrix.

Taking her place in there, Neo could act as a union between man, machine and code, because he was still being connected to his body. This was the only way to save Trinity, who had to be convinced of going back to her body; which was quite a risky option. But it was their only option for a common future. She did not know if she could handle it or if she would get lost between this world and the other one. They both didn't know if Neo's code could be translated back to his brain after the mission; or if it got erased forever. Before they tried, they had both said goodbye.

But they had not only known that this whas a chance for their future, but also for the future of mankind and machines as a whole. Right now, with the truce being really fresh, perhaps a real union between man and machine could be achieved; under the council of the Oracle and most of all with the help of Neo and Trinity as ambassadors, whose existence represented a merging between the two competing forms of life.

Trinity and Neo had both grown far beyond what they had been before they agreed to the plans of the Oracle, back in their days as unsfinished Programs. They had become human with all their hearts, and this was the way they both wanted to keep on living like. Now that they had remembered their roots within machine code, they could understand both civilizations. And having freed the machines from the Oligarchy, the way was open for a democratically developed peace process.

"...The first part of the plan worked out well, because we're both still alive!", Trinity grinned, as she came to an end of her story.

Neo's new eyes were wide open and he still could not believe all of this. The memory of what had happened in the Matrix as a double-agent had been erased from his brain. But he understood how lucky he was that his conscience had been able to be reconstructed after all.

And he was endlessly thankful for being with Trinity. Neo had never ever anticipated that this could happen, nor had he dared to hope for anything personal when he finally faced Smith for the last time.

Now, Smith's code had become an add-on to Neo's. The lack of purpose that Smith had always been complaining about had been an equivalent to Neo's inevitable destination. But finally, the equation got balanced within him, and Neo was free to chose a life of his own now. A life with purpose.

"If you weren't here with me", Neo joked, "I guess I'd turn into a psychic assasin... That all really is too much for my poor brain now. But I don't care, you see, because..."

"I guess I know why they saved me", Trinity added grinningly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three: Diplomacy

She soon fell asleep again in his arms, and so did Neo after she had closed her eyes. It had been too much for both of them, and their bodies were still injured, especially hers. It was a wonder that they were both still alive.

In their sleep, there was peace. They did not know what was lying ahead of them; nor did they want to know. For one single moment, everything was alright.

At that moment, Commander Morpheus was requesting access to Zero One. He had started a searching team for his two missing crew members and refused to give up on them. Three weeks had passed since the war had ended. Everyone knew that Neo was responsible for that. But nobody still expected him or the woman who joined him to be alive, after having heard nothing of them ever since. Like always, Morpheus had gone to the surface on his own responsibility, with only a few volunteers.

The machines had refused to talk about Neo's fate since the truce had been established. His status was treated as a secret, and Morpheus was still waiting for permission to enter Machine City. What he did not know was that up to that point, the machines did not know themselves how Neo's destiniy would turn out. Nor was the Oracle's plan obvious to the whole nation. But after spending 72 hours of waiting, the Commander was at the end of his patience. Although he did not want to risk the peace process, he asked once more for a status report on Neo, with urgency.

And this time, he alone was given passage through Zero One as the third, or maybe even the first originally human being for hundreds of years. Leaving his ship and his crew behind, he was asked to join a small ship, which looked like there had been rebels among the machines Themselves. It was led by a women, whose sight shocked Morpheus right away. It was the same woman Neo had met when he had awoken first, but Morpheus did not know that. Nor did he know that she had about 20 twin sisters of identical -and artificial- DNA.

"I'm not who I appear to be", the beautiful woman said. "But later on that. The plan has been successful." "What plan?", Morpheus asked slowly, and full of distrust.  
"The plan of the Oracle. Our plan."  
Morpheus did not understand. But he was getting curious if there might be a chance for Neo being still alive. He had prepared himself for facing his dead body, and wanted to ask if he could return it to Zion. But that misterious woman was alluding to something. The Commander was getting impatient: "Where-is-Neo?"  
But his question made her even more play with his feelings. She seemed to be amused by human emotions which she did not totally understand. But she was totally aware of how important establishing good relations with the humans was for reaching her political aims. So she did not want to make Morpheus even more angry and told him that he would meet Neo soon.

"Meet? So he is still alive?"  
"Indeed he is. If you would call us 'life'."  
"What?"  
"Not important. Follow me."

The ship landed and Morpheus was taken to the medical station of the Oracle's project. He walked across sacropharg-like glass-containers, with bodies in it that seemed to be human. He faced the woman's many identical copies. He saw wires and tubes with blood stuck in some of the copies and expected the worst had happened to Neo and Trinity. But when he finally reached their room, they both looked very peaceful, sleeping side by side and tightly hugged.

Morpheus trembled. "What is going on here?"  
"Don't worry", another of the women said. "We did no harm to them. We tried to help. They're..."  
And she bit on her lip, not wanting to tell him that his friends were the masterpiece of their project. She did not want to shock him. Neo and Trinity would tell him the truth when it was the time to. Right now, nothing should harm human-machine relationships. "You can take them with you to Zion", she finally told the commander, "As soon as they have awakened."  
"And what do you get from us for that?"  
"We've instructed them to be our ambassadors. They'll be in constant contact with us, and a member of our medical team will be granted constant access to Zion."  
"Why that?", Morpheus asked, still not convinced by their sudden diplomacy.  
"To... look at them from time to time. We... have done what we could to save their lives. We're still learning a lot abot your species by their example."

Morpheus clearly sensed that she was hiding something from him. And he knew that granting the machines access to Zion was dangerous, even if it was only one of them. But he also knew that if peace should have a chance, both sides would have to make agreements, and risk a dialogue with each other. He looked at Neo and Trinity, and only wished to get them out of here as soon as possible.

"Alright", he said, "but I'll only let one of your doctors join me on my ship."  
"Good. And one more of us to guard her."  
He looked deeply into her eyes, and could see that she as well was afraid. Morpheus knew what mankind had done to its creation, and why the machines had been so cruel to their creators. But one day, forgiveness had to happen if there ever should be a future of growth instead of defense. And the beginning of that day had started right now.

Morpheus felt the future of Zion in his hands. He could be a part of history as a man who had brought even more darkness for the human race, or as a man who had built a foundation for peace.  
He looked at his friends and thought of what they had done for the future of Zion. Would he risk the success of their deeds by refusing, or by accepting the machines proposal?

"Okay", he finally decided. "But only if I can take them with me right now. I won't wait for them to wake up. Your doctors can take their medical equipment with them. Our friends shall wake up at home."

"Hm." The woman only nodded her head.  
And so, Neo and Trinity were taken back to the City of Zion.

The sounds of the ship were finally waking them up, as Morpheus started the engines of his new ship, ready to take his comrades home. One of the two twin doctors told him that Neo had opened his eyes. The start had to wait. Morpheus wanted to be there for his old friend immediately.

"Where are we?", the former chosen One asked, still surprised about finding himself back once again in a human body. "Morpheus? Is it you?"

"It is, my friend!", Morpheus said warmly, "And this is my new ship. The Warrior Princess."  
"You're kidding! "  
"Yes, it's named Nebbucchadnezzar II, but doesn't that sound boring?"  
"Indeed it does." And after a pause, he continued:  
"I can't believe my eyes, Morheus. I thought we had said goodbye forever when we left for the Logos."  
"I thought the same. It's good to have the two of you back."

Neo laughed and gave Morpheus a hug.  
Trinity was still asleep, and the tall dark man took an asking look at her.  
"She's alright", Neo said. "But she's going through a really hard time. She was heavily injured, not only in her body..."  
"And you?"  
"I'm... I guess I should be knocked out for a while as well. Things were just too crazy... I'll have to tell you at a good cup of Cypher's destilled whatsoever... If he was good for anything, then for his drinks."  
Morpheus laughed, but had no idea what Neo and Trinity had been going through. He could only imagine. He would grant them time until they would want to talk on their own. Today, they would need a lot of rest. He would talk to the senators to leave official things up to tomorrow, and grant them a secret room on the medical station so that they could relax. If then human doctors would tell Morpheus that they both were alright, maybe Morpheus would be able to relax as well. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four: Rebirth**

Trinity kept on sleeping until her medical check-up at Zion was complete.  
Naomi, a young doctor, had to breathe heavily when she told Neo the results.

"As far as I can see it", she said, "She will survive, but we don't know yet how. And those two sweet machine girls over there have not told you the full truth.", she spoke, pointing at the passengers from Zero One. As Morpheus had agreed to take two human-like machine doctors to Zion on his ship, they had joined the medical station to watch their patients. They looked totally alike, identical to the woman Morpheus and Neo had talked to at Machine City.

"We intended to not tell you everything right away", one of these twins angrily commented. "But they both had already enough to deal with. We were not even sure if we could reinstall Neo's memory, so why bothering him with even more trouble? Humans. You always feel betrayed."

"What do you mean by reinstall?", the human doctor asked.  
"So your chosen One has also not told you the full truth.", the other twin fought back like a little child, "Why do you think he could stop our sentinels without being plugged in to the Matrix? Because he's god? God, no. He's our finest piece of art. Our son, so to say. He's both human and machine."

"You're one of them?", Naomi was asking Neo, "Does the government know about this?"

Now, Neo had to breathe patiently.  
"No. Noone knows, exept you, until now. I didn't even know it myself until I woke up after the fight against Smith. I nearly lost my life, and my wife. And she hasn't woken up yet. I will tell the senators, tomorrow!"

"She's your wife? Is she a hybrid herself? That would explain a lot."

"No."

"She's human?"

"No, she's not my wife. But I love her like... Well, what's wrong about her? What didn't they tell me?"

"I must apologize, Sir.", Naomi admitted. "You have gone trough a lot. Whoever you are, you've ended the war, and your costs were huge. I'll leave it up to tomorrow. I'm sure the senators will understand if you tell them what's happened. Do I have your word that you'll tell them?"

"You do."

"Alright. Then I'll leave the two of you alone now. All monitors say you're both out of danger. Good night." And taking an angry look at the twins, she added: "Visitor's time's over now, ladies. You can come back for further research tomorrow."

As the door closed behind them, Neo took another deep breath, and a worried look at Trinity. What did the doctor allude to? Was it that she knew a human being couldn't have survived this? Now she knew who they were. But all that mattered was that Trinity would make it. He hoped she would wake up again soon, so that he could talk to her. But she still kept on sleeping until midnight.

Neo had taken a short nap, sitting at her bed, but he was back at his senses immediately. Trinity coughed, and got up in pain. She could hardly breathe, but she caressed his head slowly and said:  
"Neo... so you're still here... I can't believe it. Are we...?"  
"We're in Zion, Trin. Morpheus brought us here."  
"Really? Where is he?"  
"I guess at his quarters. We're at the medical station. You slept for 16 hours. Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry. I'm okay. I'm so happy that you are there!"

Trinity smiled, but Neo could see from her face that she only tried to hide her pain.  
"Trinity... What's wrong? It's okay, you can tell me... Those are your words!"  
She knew she had to be honest now. She had always wanted him to be honest with her as well, and she could see that he wanted to be there for her.

She had to cry.  
"I can't move my body.", she gasped. "And if I try to, it only hurts."

"Maybe you need some time to adopt to it?", Neo thought loudly. "I mean, you spent some days in the Matrix without being connected to your physical body, so..."

"Yes, that was horrifying. But now... I feel like I only want to get out of this body!"

"Trin, don't say something like that! I'm so glad that you're still here with me..."  
His last words were only mumbled. A heavy thought had come to his mind.  
Had it been a mistake to bring her to her back to this world? Had it been egoistic of him to want her back here? Was it only painful for her?

"Don't look at me this way.", she said. "It's not your fault. But now, being back home, I just can't stand the thought that I'm one of the enemies I've been fighting for so long. I can't stand this body I'm in. I can't stand this life I thought I was living, but it never was my own, neither here, nor in the Matrix."

"But it IS your own life, by your choice", Neo tried to remind her. "Why did you want to come back, otherwise? You didn't have to."

"Love is no choice", she said, trying to laugh though filled with pain. "I wanted to be with you. But maybe even my love for you is programmed. You see?"

Now she was desperate. And so was Neo. He could not decide if he should hate himself or love her even more in this moment. But finally, he took her hand, looked at her seriously and asked her:

"Tell me honestly, do you still love me?"

"Of course I do."

"Then is it important why you do?"

Trinity had to think for a long while.

"I don't know", she finally said, "Maybe it doesn't matter why I was designed, or why I love you.  
I always liked feeling like we were made for one another, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah.", Neo said, on one hand happy by his memories, and on the other hand deeply sad that it had come to this.

"Neo... Please don't think that I regret the mission I agreed to before I was born as a human... Or something like a human."

"Trin... I'm also no 'real' human, are you aware of that? But is it the material our genetical code is built of that makes us human? Is it important if a form of existence is natural or artificial?"

And now, Trinity realized that if she hated who or what she was, she had to hate Neo, too. For a glimpse of a while, she could see beyond her doubts about herself. Why did she bother herself that way, if all she had to do is loving him the way he was? If she really did that, she could accept herself as well. It was not about her. It was about both of them.  
She sat there for long in silence, looking down on the ground thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't want it any other way", she finally admitted. "I always liked that kind of life... with you, and for you. That's why I chose to go on like this... I'm sorry."  
She was whiping away her own tears and was able to smile for a second. "I know now, why I came back. I wanted the life which I now think was not my own... But this time, I'll make it my own. I chose it at my own will! Because I still want to be with you..."  
Neo took her into his arms. "You don't need to hurry", he said. "Take your time. It's your decision, and your life."

Trinity shook her head. "No, Neo. I'm sorry. I don't need more time to decide this", she said, and caressed his face. "I know what I want now. I already did down there in Zero One. It's you."  
He looked deeply into his eyes, and she added: "Freedom is not being without destination, is it?"

"Smith told us all.", Neo whispered.  
"Maybe, freedom lies in embracing the inevitable.", Trinity guessed.  
"I like the fact that it's inevitable to love you", Neo said. "Inevitable, like this", and once again, Trinity had to give in to his kiss.

Later on that night, Trinity couldn't stop the thoughts rushing to her head, though she felt much more happy now.  
"Do you think we knew each other as programs?", she went on after a while of content silence between them.  
"I don't think so", Neo said. "I can't really remember, but I guess, we didn't know what love was."  
"I think I felt like going to a research camp.", Trinity tried to figure out. "I knew I'd meet you one day and I was curious how it was going to be like, but I can't remember more."  
"And that's good. We've both grown far beyond anything we could imagine... I am a whole different person now. God... I guess, this is my third life within this body!"  
Neo laughed.

"And it's a miracle we're still alive, isn't it?", Trinity said.  
"Hell, yes. I wanna forget about all of that. Please see me as the man I'm now."  
"I'll always love you for who you are. And I've always done so. I haven't loved the chosen One. I have loved Neo. And I agree to that. Let's leave the past behind."

"Trin... I feel like, all of what's behind us, was not as real as this life right now!"  
Trinity looked into Neos eyes full of wonder. She had to think of the moment when he had made her heart beat again, up on the skyscraper. But this time, she knew that she was really safe, because the war was over. Neo had ended it. And she would dedicate her life to making this peace last.

Not all of her life. She would live her own one. Without fear, without fate, without a preordained destiny. She would live it for herself, and for the one she loved. A life of their own, no matter how 'life' was going to be defined by the human reason.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five: Burdens and blessings**

The next morning, they woke up by the light being switched on by one of the doctors unexpectedly. They both were quite sleepy when the chief of the medical station wanted to meet them personally. He found them lying in each other's arms, slowly unrolling themselves from their hug and trying to wrap the sleep from their eyes.

"Oh, I see you're doing better!", the doctor said smilingly.

"Good morning...", Neo mumbled and did not know what else to say.

"My Name is Hermes. And the two of you are going to be my most famous patients so far. Not regarding the two young ladies you brought along, that now are my collegues!"

Neo was not in the mood for some small talk because last night they had barely slept, and this man had awakened him far too early. He let his heavy head sink back into the pilllow and was in danger to fall asleep again.

"We've been through rough times, you must excuse him.", Trinity finally said.

"That's no problem. Most of all, I wanted to talk to _you_. But first of all it's good to see that you're at your senses again and that your body signals say you're out of danger! That makes things a lot easier."

"What things?", Neo suddenly arose, having fallowed their conversation with one ear, "Trinity and I are not here to be the object of your research project, even if your new collegues might have made you think so... That was not our idea. We just want to keep on living our lives!"

"I'm sorry if I wasn't the most sensitive doctor this morning", Hermes said. "I was so exited about the news that I nearly forgot you're two people."

"Right.", Trinity said, "So you can treat us like that."

Hermes only nodded and left the room silently. But after they would have had breakfast, he wanted tp return and try again.

Neo and Trinity sat in front of their plates silently and happy. Nothing could disturb the inner joy they both felt about their reunion, and about the new life they both had found during the last night. Nevertheless, Neo kept wondering about what the doctor might want from Trinity. Yesterday the other doctor, Naomi, had also alluded to something about her. Was Trinity still in danger? He could not believe it. Or was it her implants, that were far more complicated than his ones, and therefore cought the medicals' interest? He kept hoping for good, but he wasn't able to mention anything to his beloved right now. As the door opened again, Neo expected the doctor to return and finally tell them the truth. Hermes had indeed been on the way, but had stopped as he saw Morpheus enter their room. The medical issues had to wait once more. They were meeting an old friend.

"Trinity, you're awake!", the tall dark man said in a content way, facing the two having breakfast at peace.

"Morpheus!" Trinity arose and gave her Captain a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you... alive!", he replied.

For a moment, Trinity could not say a word. It was a great gift and a miracle that they had survived. And times assumably had been hard for Morpheus, even if he had not totally believed in their death. But not only that..._ "He does not know thet we're machines..."_, she thought, _"...how will I be able to tell him?"_

She looked at Neo and he understood what she was thinking about immediately. They had to explain their true identity to Morpheus right now, before the truth would find other ways to reach him. He was their closest friend. But the only people who knew who Trinity and Neo really were, was the team at the medical station so far.

"There's something you need to know", Neo began and Trinity realized that there was no time for procrastination. Her heart was beating fast when the One began to tell his mentor that he himself had been part of the machine's plan, without knowing.

What would Morpheus think about them now? He had always believed in Neo, even when it seemed as if he would not fulfill the prediction. But dealing with such revelations could make the Captain believe he had been used by the machines as well. Trinity herself still felt like that, though before being born into human form she had agreed to what might happen. But right now, she only felt and thought like a woman.

Morpheus' looked very shocked. Though he first did not know what to think, his feelings soon became clear. "That won't change what I think about you", he said to Neo and went on, "Nor will it change what you have done for the people of Zion. You have already been following your own path for long. You are you, no matter what your body's made of. And I still believe in both of you."

Neo was speechless and had to give Morpheus a hug, too. Trinity smiled and looked down to the ground. If the people of Zion would see things like Morpheus, her and Neo would have a future. And not only them, but the civilizations of Men and Machines as well.

"I hope I do not disturb you", Hermes said as he finally joined the room. Neo turned his head towards the doctor and realized that he was a bit nervous. Hermes was surprised by that, because hours before, Neo had shown no interest in him. They both shook hands and made sure that they now had a better basis to start from.

"Now that you're in a better mood", Hermes said, "I hope it's okay if I confront you with some news."

"What news?", Neo wanted to know.

"The reason why I needed to come here for a second time. But first I want to tell you once more that we're not only glad you ended the war and that you have survived, which is a medical sensation. I mean, your _existence_ is a sensation... but there's even more."

"So what else is wrong?"  
"You're not wrong. It's just... We found out another interesting fact about you", Hermes stated, turning towards Trinity.

"Me?", she asked. "Whats wrong... or interesting... about me?" Her heartbeat grew faster and she became a little anxious about what might fallow next. She had imagined anything, that she had to go back to the Matrix because her body was too instable; that Neo and her could not be reaccepted as citizens of Zion due to the high risk for the population; or maybe the doctor wanted to tell her that they could never have children, which wouldn't have been such a problem for her... But she could never have prepared herself for what she now would hear... That she indeed _was_ "...pregnant".

She only percieved those last words as bubbles coming out of Hermes' mouth, which contained a sound coming from far away. Trinity was freezed inside and did not know what to say. Her stomach began to hurt._ "So that's why they kept me alive"_, she thought, _"they're doing an experiment with me. They used me as a container for their research... Oh my god. They planted another hybrid into my whomb..."_

She could not remember that she would ever have agreed to that, neither before as a program, nor now in her human form. She anxiuosly grabbed Neo's hand, the doctor looking very worried at her. But Neo's expression remained calm. He had not only imagined worse news to be told by Hermes; one single look of him also told Trinity what he felt: That this was _their_ child. But how could that be? Had she not cared about the consequences of their last night in Zion, expecting that she would die soon anyway before they left for their last mission?

Once again that all was too much for her. She was not even sure how a baby could have survived what her body had been through. But maybe the medical team at Machine City had done a good job to save its life as well.

The sound of two more people entering the room took her off her thoughts. The twin sisters from Zero One came in and sat down quietly beside Trinity. One of them took Trinity's hand, while the other one said: "Look. We know that this is a shock for you. But we had to save its life. Even if this might sound rude to you, your child is the future of our race."

Trinity just kept staring down to the ground. "...Save?", she slowly asked, a tear dropping down on the floor, "You say, I was already carrying it when you found me?"

"That's absolutely true. Your doctor will tell you."

"Our data says that it must have happened before you checked out of Zion last time.", Hermes confirmed, quite concerned about Trinity's feelings. "And the genetical tests do not only proof that the gentleman beside you must be its father, but that it's going to be totally healthy."

"We did our very best to keep both of you.", one twin stated in a self-satiesfied way.

"Nevertheless I want you to know that it's your right not to keep it", Hermes added, causing the sisters to look at him with disgust, "we're still in time, and it's just an option. But I have to remind you of the fact that it's your body and only you have the right to decide what to do about it."

He looked back at the twins very seriously. "I guess it's time for us to leave now", he told them, "and let our friends take their time to think everything over. Ladies, would you accompany me?" They still wanted to say something, but the chief doctor was already leading both of them out of the room.

And there she sat, alone and quiet, not knowing what to think, what to do, what to say. At that moment, even Neo could not make her smile. Trinity felt sorry for him as well. She had realized that he was happy about the news, and so she felt awful. _"If I really get rid of the child"_, she thought, "_I'll hurt him as well. Not to mention the political consequences..." _

She froze. Neo just rubbed her back and knew that whatever he said would not make it right. This was her decision. And he would respect her choice, whatever it would turn out to be.

"Trin, I want you to know that...", he began, but Trinity already interrupted him:

"I know, Neo. And I appreciate that. But... I know how sad that would make you."

"But it makes me even more sad, if you feel like you have no choice", he replied, and wrapped a tear from her face, "so if you're not ready for this, I can accept that."

Trinity smiled a little and took his hand. "It's not about being ready", she said.

"Then what is it about?", Neo asked.

If she would have known a simple answer to this question, she would have told him. But at that moment, there was only an explosive mix of conflicting thoughts in her head. Neither had she ever imagined hersef as a mother, nor did she expect she would carry the future of her own enemy under her heart one day. Right now, she felt like a rat in an experimental labyrinth. And there would be no easy way out. As if it wasn't hard enough to accept herself as a hybrid, she would now have to face everything she didn't like about herself within her child as well.

"Neo", she finally said, "I don't even feel like this is my own child. It's like I was birthing it for the nation of the machines, or at least for their medical research team!"

„I understand", Neo said and placed his hand upon her shoulder very carefully, "but look... this is _our_ child. A consequence of our love, and it should not be of the machines' concern. We are the reason for this, not them." Trinity just nodded silently.

After a pause, he continued: "Do you remember that night when Morpheus spoke at the temple, right before we left to meet the architect?"

"So you think...?", she whispered, smiling a bit now.

Neo looked into her eyes and smiled back at her.

Trinity's glance wandered down at her belly. Very slowly, she managed to put a hand on it while she was biting her lip and looking at Neo with wide open eyes. Could that really be? Was it a part of him that was living within her now? She could not resist this thought, which from that moment on would not leave her conscience anymore. But the upcoming days were going to be tough for them.

Days, in which Trinity just wanted to be alone. She could not look into Neo's eyes anymore, being torn apart between her love for him, the concern for his feelings about their child, and her own disgust about her body while feeling like a bionic experiment. The woman she had become was at conflict with the origin of her own existence, and once more she felt like she had no control over what she had defined as _her_ life. This was not so much about her child; it was about her ongoing fight for who she was.

For Neo, those days were filled with meeting politicians. They wanted to know everything about the machine's military position and Neo's new role as their ambassador. The senate was very worried what would happen if people found out that their saviour had been one of the enemies as well. So they put Neo under pressure to speak in front of Zion before rumours could spread. He tried to explain that due to private reasons, he still needed some more time. This did not support the council's trust in him, but he knew he could not make it before Trinity had left the hospital at peace. And the fact that he could not reach her in such times lay like a heavy burden upon him, even if Trinity was glad that he was so busy at that time. Nevertheless, he would wait until she had made a decision and was released home. The people would have to be patient. Right now, there were important things for him.

Morpheus met Neo in front of his quarters every sleepless night of that week, which felt like a whole month. He encouraged him to keep his head up. If Morpheus had not still believed in him as a person, Neo would not have known what to do. The council's pressure was rising every day, but he did not want to pass that pressure on to Trinity. During these days, he carried it all by himself.

Trinity's burden was a different one. She felt betrayed by her own body, by her own exestince, and by a plan whose complexity she could not yet figure out. Was she just a misused puzzle piece in the machine's striving for humanoid existence? Had they gone too far? Or was it really her personal fate that had made her a mother, having fallen into a love she would have given her life for at anytime, no matter wether it was preordained or not? She did not know, and her heart fought against her doubting reason. But even if she was going to wonder for days about keeping the baby or not, one thought always came back to her again: _It was a part of him._ And a part of herself. That's why those news had made Neo happy. Because he was touched by the fact that together they had created a fruit of their love.

The selfsame thought made her cry when she woke up at night to sit up alone for long. She did not know that at the same time, Neo was sleepless as well. But one thought kept accompanying her. It was there in the backround when she was worrying about adoption as well as imagining herself with the baby, which to her felt very strange. This thought came back to her when she met the doctor to discuss the medical difficulties of her pregnancy. And it finally prevented her from signing the papers for abortion. _It was a part of him._

She had to cry badly.

Hermes understood, and threw the papers away. He put his hand on her shoulder, went out of his office and gave Neo a sign to come in. Neo had been waiting outside the medical station all day, because he knew that this was the last possible day for such an intervention. He faced the room and saw Trinity hiding her face in her hands. She cried like she had not done often before in her life; out of relief, and out of love. She cried because of fear and shame. And she cried because she was so angry at the Machines, who still seemed to see her as their reseach project.

Neo put his arms around her from behind very slowly and caressed her hands. For a couple of minutes, they both said nothing. Triniy still kept weaping.

"Have you signed it?", Neo finally asked.

Trinity shook her head very slowly. "I couldn't do it.", she finally admitted. „It's a part of you that lives in me."

She turned around and looked at him full of sorrow for all the times of worry which lay behind them. And she still did not know how she would be able to handle the situation in the future.

Neo kissed her forehead. "We'll manage this together.", he gladly said. "And first of all, I'll get you the hell out of here!"

"That would be fine", Trinity smiled. They both knew she could not stand another day being watched by the doctors. "And as their ambassador, I'll beg the machines to desist from their medical team at Zion and have their doctors return home. They should leave this to us.", Neo added.

Fifteen minutes later, Hermes signed the papers to release Trinity out of the medical station. That night she was going to go to bed in her own quarters. And she would lay down with a heart that had not felt that light for long. Neo knew that now there was no more reason for delay. He would have to face the people of Zion. But that seemed only to be a minor challenge, now that Trinity had gained some of her peace back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Sparrows and nightingales**

During the folllowing days, all that Trinity wanted was to stay at home. She had not had her own private space for long. And she knew that Neo actually had needed her a lot during her time in the hospital. So she tried to concentrate on him, now. Though her decision to keep the child had not given her complete peace, she chose not to mention her thoughts to him until he had spoken to Zion.

He was walking up and down in their appartment nervously and tried to formulate his speech. "Does it always have to be black and white...?", he mumbled and Trinity watched him think hard about what to say.

"You're afraid of how they will react to you, right?"

"I should be, shouldn't I? I mean, I'm... a machine."

"Shh... Neo. You're a person. And as a person you should talk to them. If you feel like their enemy yourself, they'll treat you that way!"

Neo had to think about Trinity's words. But drops of sweat were reappearing on his forehead another time. He was getting very emotional when he said:

"Wasn't it you, Trin, who was disgusted by the thought of being a machine? And who spent weeks trying to get over that?"

At that moment, Trinity would have loved to yell back at him, but she knew he was only desperate and doubting himself. He was right, she had felt the same way before, so she understood what he was going through: Not only for redefining his own identity, but also being given the role as ambassador for the nation of machines... Nevertheless, had it not been this attitude towards them that had started all wars, hundreds of years ago? Not seeing the machines as beings, but as a subject? Something strange and different, bewildering? Something to be ashamed or afraid of?

Trinity carefully placed her hand on Neo's shoulder and took a deep breath. He tried to apologize immediately, but she made clear that he did not have to. "It's okay", she said. "Just tell them exactly how you feel. Perhaps they'll understand you then."

Neo turned around and looked into her eyes full of sorrow. "Will you accompany me?", he finally asked, not feeling like he was worth it.

"Of course I will", Trinity replied. She was proud of herself for having remained calm in this difficult situation. She knew she had to carry a lot herself those days; but that would have to wait until Neo's next step had been taken. He had already done the same for her.

Neo would not have been afraid to face his worst enemy for another final fight; but the thought of telling people that he had become one with that selfsame enemy made him feel like a lunatic.

Tonight, Morpheus would introduce him to the public. The senate had become very impatient, and there had not been any reason for further procrastination anymore.

Being the One, Neo was used to get a lot attention from people. But he had never asked for that. The people who believed in him had come to him; and not the other way round. He had never tried to convince anybody of his path or his ideas; but now he would have to. Peace politics dependet on him now, as an ambassador who had to lead mankind beyond a truce into a further kind of cooperation. And this task lay heavy on his shoulders. The last thing he had ever imagined himself to be was a politician. But now that the war was over, people no longer needed a saviour, but someone to inspire them in a way of living that fitted the future. All he was, represented that new kind of way. But he still was only a man. A man who had gone through the worst. A man, who did not want to lose the little piece of peace that he had found in the thought of having a family. He was still an introverted person trying to fight his nervousness and doubts.

Though he wished it was already over, Neo felt glad that Morpheus took the first words when finally all free mankind had gathered at the temple.

"ZION!", he began, solemn as always, "Hear me!"

The crowd got silent, so Morpheus went on:"How many of you have known me as a fanatic? Someone who pursued a stupid plan when you would have needed me somewhere else? How many?"

The mass started to mumble. Though Morpheus had a lot of supporters, he also had always had the same number of enemies. In fact, what he had called himself was what many had thought of him until the war had finally been over. Since then, his critics indeed respected him for having invested into a dangerous game. But nevertheless, it was believed by many that he just had been lucky. Only a few would have admitted that they had done him wrong. But among them were a few courageous people who were raising there hands right now.

"I cannot make you wrong!", Morpheus stated in a knowing way. "Believing is not reasonable. But sometimes it is the only possible way out. It is not personal to me what some of you have thought of me, and that is not why I am standing here. But it will be personal to me if you do someone wrong who is a dear friend to me. Someone who we all owe our deepest respect. You know him as the One."

The crowd became louder now. Rumours had already spread that Neo was still alive; some had even heard of his partner to have survived, though Trinity was not so common with most of the people. But there never had been an official statement by the government. Today's evening was supposed to be that statement.

"We all agree that without our friend Neo the Machines would have destroyed Zion when they had the chance to, don't we?"

People were cheering now, and Neo got even more nervous when being praised that way.

"Well, he has got an unbelieveable story to tell.", Morpheus continued. "And I want you to listen to him carefully!"

People were cheering, not knowing what they were going to hear next, and the tall dark skinned man was waving his arm to invite Neo to the stage. Neo gulped, expecting the worst to happen when the truth about him would come out. Finally, he stepped out of the shadow to face the many faces of Zion and could not remember ever having felt that insecure before since his awakening. But Trinity was standing behind him in the background, melting her thoughts with his. Her presence gave him strength, and he finally began to talk.

"Thank you Morpheus, for your kind words.", he first said, without introducing himself for a second time. "This man was my captain during the most intense half year I have ever been through. You got it right- _He_ was _my_ captain. Without his guidance, I would not have found my way at all. Without his believe in me, I would not ever have started to believe in myself. Contrary to him, I was not convinced that I was the One. And at first, I even did not want to be."

He smiled, a little embaressed and in an honest way. Some people were laughing a little as well.

"So, before I start to tell you what I actually have to tell, I want to thank the person who made me finally choose own path, because she always loved what I would become."

Trinity blushed and only shook her head silently. People were getting exited again, because this statement confirmed the rumours about the One having a partner. While to some of his friends this was no unusual thing, some puritans felt disturbed by the thought of a women at his sight. If he was only human, like them, what made him so special then? Those who did not believe in the prophecy did not care at all. A lot of people believed that Neo had just been a good diplomatist.

"Her name is Trinity", Neo went on, "And you should never forget to mention her name as well when later on speaking of me." He turned around, and Trinity only nodded unassumingly, encouraging him to go on.

"That being said, I have to bring to you a certain message."

"THE WAR IS NOT OVER?", some people from the crowd were screaming.

"It is. The truce will be kept. But the machines do want more."

"WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM US?", the screams went on.

"To explain that to you, I have to tell you another story. But before you get bored- Listen to me. I swear to tell the truth."

The room was tense, but Neo went on: "I was freed from the Matrix like all of you, exept those who are born in Zion. And until then, I lived my life in the Matrix like all of you did, not knowing what it really was about. I was freed like all of you, by taking the red pill on a very strange day."

"SO WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOU?", some people were yelling now.

"Shut up! He's going to tell if you would listen!", a skinny teenage boy was shouting back. It was the Kid.

Neo tried to remain calm: "I promise I did not know as well what should be special about me when Morpheus told me I had a destiny. At first. I thought that prophecy was bullshit."

Now, some were laughing.

"But then I realized I could do things other people couldn't do, in the Matrix. Still I had no idea why. I met the oracle one day. Some of you might have heard that she's a program herself. But she only told me what I had to do next. Not one smallest bit more. I knew I had to go to machine city one day. But I did not know why. And when I faced my arch-enemy, the agent you might know as Smith, I thought that this was my end. I was supposed to be dead. He had overridden my codes within the Matrix, but by my last will, I had given his code to the source, so they could erase him. That had been my deal for them sparing Zion."

People were listening devoutly now.

"When I opened my eyes again, I knew this had not been the end. And what I tell you now might appal you, but I hope that you believe me when I tell you that I had no idea."

Rumours were spreading in the room again. What was he alluding to? A spiritual near-death-experience? Or could it be that he...? But Neo would not grant them much time to speculate.

"I was told I had been part of an experiment.", he stated, telling his hard to calm down without success.

"WHAT KIND OF EXPERIMENT?", the mass was asking.

Neo had to clear his throat. "Translating machine code into human DNA."

Now he had said it. Now it was out. Now, it was up to the people how they would react to this. The words were bubbling out of his mouth fast now. There was no turning back anymore. "I and the agent are one. We both had been part of a larger plan we both did not fully understand. It was a dangerous plan. Noone knew how things would turn out to be, not even the machines. There were six versions of the One before me, but I left my destination. And so did Smith. There were rebels among the machines who had hoped for this to happen; ho had been searching for a new way of coexistence for both our races; but the machines had not been united about this themselves. Everything was uncertain, and though I could convince their leaders, it still is- because it is up to you, now."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?", people were outraging now.

Neo was close to breaking down and feelt like losing his senses. Trinity ran to him and tried to help him up. "My head is hurting terribly", he gasped. Then, he returned to speak again, but he did not sound like himself as he answered their question:

"COOPERATION. AND BEING ACCEPTED AS EQUAL BEINGS."

Later on, Neo realized that in that moment he had spoken for himself and for the machines alike. Or had they spoken trough him? He did not know. He only remembered that Morpheus led him out of the hall, because he could hardly walk at that moment.

Before Trinity would fallow him, she wanted to take the word herself for a moment. She knew that Neo was safe with Morpheus, and felt like having something to add.

"Before you leave now", she said, "I want to tell you what I think. Perhaps you mean that this is not of your concern, because I'm only that unimportant woman at the betrayer's side. But I also have been part of the experiment he mentioned, and I was disgusted when the machines told me. I have been a soldier since was plugged of. I fought our enemy without mercy. I loved the one who would defeat them once and for all. And I trusted him in whatever he thought he had to do, saving this city which I called my home. But I would not believe my ears when they told me that I was a machine myself. That I had been designed to support him. And that I was carrying a baby that was ment to be their latest research project."

"You're a machine whore!", a rude man from the crowd screamed.

"You're lucky I am!", Trinity replied and clenched her fist. "If I was not pregnant, I would punch my machine fist right into your soft face now!"

She was biting her lip. Trinity had to remind herself why she was here: To tell those who were scared that she could understand them. And that nevertheless there _was_ another way than fear.

"I have hated myself", she admitted with her last will power. "Those who have known me as a fellow soldier might understand. It was not easy for me to realize I'm one of the enemies. I'd have preferred to die, first."

The angry man was silent now.

"But...", she began once again, "Hasn't this disjunction into friend and foe, black and white, Man and Machine initially brought us here? Why did the Machines make us their slaves, hundrets of years ago, after we had created them?"

"Because we wanted them to be our slaves and we were threatened by their own will!", Kid was explaining, as loud as he could manage to speak. Trinity was impressed by the boy she first had joked about when seeing him chase after Neo all the time, at their last visit in Zion.

"That's it", she said, "and revenge turned to revenge, turned to revenge. How long do we want to go on like that?" She felt like being uplifted now.

People were moving. There was some sort of sense in what she had said.

"Who am I?", she finally asked, "There is no category you can put me in. Am I human? Am I a machine? I don't know. And I don't care any longer. I am. And I have learned to love the enemy in my own friend's face. There _is_ a common way into the future. If we stop to judge about what life is and instead start to live it! I can only repeat what Neo has already said: _Now it's up to you_."

With those words, she left the stage, and people to themselves. She ran, away from the crowd. Away from what might come. She ran to see Neo who had not looked very well. And while she was running through the halls of Zion, breath was filling up her lungs and she finally started to feel alive again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven: Healing**

When Trinity reached her quarters, Neo was already there.

Morpheus had brought him home and now he was sitting in their bed, holding his head in pain.

But she was glad that her beloved was already back at his senses.

Neo looked up at her as soon as she entered the room, and tried to smile.

"You don't need to", Trinity said and kissed his hair. "And... you don't need to drink!", she added, realizing that Morpheus was hiding a glass behind his back.

"Don't be that hard to him", their former Captain replaid, "his head hurts like hell and alcohol is the only pain-relieving drug we've got in Zion! Also... he made a great speech! That's worth celebrating..."

Trinity said nothing and went to the kitchenline, her feet hitting the ground with a nervous noise.

"I'd be glad if people saw it that way", she said after a while.

Morpheus' head sunk.

"Tomorrow, there'll be enough time to contemplate about this", he stated, "but tonight, both of you have been extraordinarily courageous! And you should give yourself a good rest."

"Yeah", Neo finally managed to say. "I feel like I could sleep for ages!"

"Will you stay with us tonight, Morph?", Trinity asked while preparing something to eat. She was not only extremely hungry and worn out; having something to do was helping her to shake of the stress and the bad thoughts on her head.

As someone different and extraordinary, though she felt anything else but special, little Trinity had always been mocked and bullied at school. Neither did the other girls understand why she spent all of her nights sitting in front of computers, nor could her teachers tolerate her sleeping in during lessons. And the boys in her class felt frightened by her.

So, besides her outraging father, she had to endure a lot of stress in school as well. Those memories were coming back now, after her and Neo had stated their truth in front of whole Zion.

She knew she had grown far beyond her capacity when she had faced the people's reactions.

She would have loved to start a fight right there. But she had become stronger.

Now that all of the stress was falling off from her, she started freezing.

Morpheus was watching her and laid his arms around his daughter-like friend.

"It's okay, Trin", he whispered and helped her to sit down besides Neo.

After a long compassionate eye-talk, during which noone of them was able to speak, Morpheus finally gave her the glass he had hidden and said: "You might need that as well."

Trinity did not disagree and Morpheus finished prepairing their little dinner.

"I'll stay here and have a look after you two", he added as they were finally sharing their food in silence.

"That's great from you", Neo replied. "I'm sure nobody will harm us. But it's good to have a friend around."

Trinity was not as certain as him, but she was glad to have Morpheus with them this time.

Back in their days on the Neb, her and Neo had always been glad if they could spend some time together without him around. But even then, he had grown to their heart. Now he was a good company for a night with some drinks and a lot of stories to tell.

Once more, Neo felt like noone else believed him but Morpheus and Trinity, when he finally tried to explain what had happened to him.

"I guess the machines have spoken through me", he said and knew how strange that sounded.

"Do you think that's what they meant when they said they needed an ambassador?", Trinity asked.

Morpheus was looking at them in a worried way. He knew it could have been possible; Neo had been connected to the source when he went to Machine City; he could control the sentinels without being jacked in; and if he really was an embodied program, why shouldn't he be able to have a direct link to his creators?

But Morpheus also knew that this could seem really bewildering to the people of Zion. And he knew that, for the person Neo had become, this had been a threatening experience.

Neo tried to take on his destiny with confidence, like always. All he was hoping for was the peace process to proceed. And all was well as long as Trinity was still with him. He felt the heavy burden she was carrying for the two of them. But she was carrying it with grace. Though she had the strenght of a warrior, she also had developed a great compassion for people and was able to forgive. But the words she had heard at the temple still sounded in her ear.

When they awoke at noon, Neo having an even bigger headache due to the glasses he had had, they heard a knocking at the door. Morpheus went outside to see what was going on, but noone was there. A basket stood in the doorway, and it was filled with letters. They mostly were adressed to Neo, and some had Trinity's name written on them.

Morpheus expected the worst, and opened one of the letters to see if they were written expressions of hatred and fear. If this was the case, he would take them with him without saying a word about it. The last thing Neo and Trinity now needed was more trouble.

But the tall man was surprised as he read people proclaiming their trust and support for the couple. Many women had written that they liked Trinity's speech and the fact that the One did not stand alone in his mission. There also was mentioned a secret gathering of a political party that support a peaceful coexistence along with the machines side by side. Morpheus found less friendly letters as well, but most of them were beyond what he had expected. Even critical voices had remained mostly polite. He knew there were more voices in Zion than the about 100 people that had managed to write a letter. But for the moment, he was quite content.

Happily, he went back in to tell his friends the good news. But Neo and Trinity had already fallen back to sleep. So he placed the basked near their bed and went home, knowing that he could leave them alone now without having to worry.


End file.
